Annals of emergency medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Randomized controlled trial of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for uncomplicated skin abscesses in patients at risk for community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection.
Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is now the leading cause of uncomplicated skin abscesses in the United States, and the role of antibiotics is controversial. We evaluate whether trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole reduces the rate of treatment failures during the 7 days after incision and drainage and whether it reduces new lesion formation within 30 days. ⋯ After the incision and drainage of uncomplicated abscesses in adults, treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole does not reduce treatment failure but may decrease the formation of subsequent lesions.